Former Trump official Keith Krach says China’s TikTok app is a “digital virus” that preys on children, and is “disguised as candy, but it’s actually cocaine.”
TikTok “preys on children,” former under secretary of state for the Trump administration, Keith Krach, told GMA3: What You Need to Know. “It’s disguised as candy, but it’s actually cocaine.”
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“If you look at how TikTok is actually being used inside of China — I’m not talking outside of China — they use it as an educational app for STEM, for science, technology, engineering, and math,” Krach added
Meanwhile, the Chinese app rewards U.S. youths by making them go viral or become “TikTok famous” for behaving foolishly, such as posting frivolous dance videos, as well as sexual content, and dangerous trends that have resulted in injury, and sometimes even death.
During his interview with GMA3: What You Need to Know, Krach also warned about TikTok being able to track keystrokes.
“That means they have access to your passwords, all your data, they have access to your health records, your bank records, they have access to your geopolitical information or your geospatial information,” he said. “That means that they can track where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re going.”
“But I think one of the things that’s worse is that it’s not just about you. It’s about the people you digitally interact with,” Krach added. “So, look at it as a digital virus, because it can infect the people around you. And the only cure for this; the only vaccine for this is a total ban.”
The former Trump official also insisted that banning TikTok is a bipartisan issue, adding, “As under secretary, I had a lot of closed-doors sessions with Congress, and I couldn’t tell the difference between a Democrat and a Republican when it came to Chinese technology.”
“This is our biggest national security threat,” Krach said. “If they can weaponize a balloon, they can certainly weaponize 150 million TikTok users at their mercy.”
Krach’s comments come as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to testify before Congress on Thursday about the app’s security concerns.
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